**Vorath’s Pov**"I don't think that fire was an accident," I said, still crouched in front of her. I could see the fear and hope fighting in her eyes. "And I don't think you did anything wrong that night."I watched her swallow hard, her hands trembling as she lifted her chalk. The sound of it scraping against the board was small, almost fragile, in the silence of the garden.When she finished, she turned the chalkboard toward me.“Why did you choose me?”The question hit me like a physical blow. Her dark eyes held mine—searching, raw, and completely defenseless. I couldn't move. I stayed where I was, dumbfounded. My throat locked, and for the first time in my life, words completely failed me.I couldn't tell her the whole truth… that I had claimed her to protect her, or that part of me had been drawn to the quiet strength behind her pain from the very moment I saw her. I couldn't admit how deeply she was already cracking open the walls I’d built around my heart. To give her an answ
Last Updated : 2026-08-27 Read more